Music, decorations, carols, performances, games, gifts, delicious treats. The Christmas party that lottery technology provider IGT Jamaica hosted for the tots at Little Angel’s Learning Centre last Thursday had all the elements of festivity.

And as Principal Elsa Simmonds attested, they had a ball.

“The children enjoyed a wonderful day,” said Simmonds, affectionately called “Auntie Elsa”.

“It was a truly heart-warming event,” said Debbie Green, general manager of IGT Jamaica.

“We were so happy to visit, to bring the gift of Christmas joy to these little angels and importantly, reinforce our commitment of continued partnership. IGT Jamaica feels particularly gratified that we were able to enhance the little ones’ learning through the expansion of our sponsorship, by increasing the number of computers donated and creating a computer lab at the centre. These little ones are our future, and they are precious,” she continued.

The Mustard Seed Communities, Sophie’s Place, is one of five Mustard Seed centres adopted by IGT under its flagship ‘After School Advantage’ programme.

Located in Gordon Town, Sophie’s Place operates a home for children with special needs and provides early childhood education via the Little Angel’s Learning Centre, catering to approximately 60 children from low-income families within the community, aged three to six years. The centre is one of IGT’s 15 After School Advantage centres across Jamaica.

The IGT After School Advantage Programme is the company’s signature philanthropic initiative, providing computer labs for children ages 5-18 to use for homework assignments during the critical after-school hours.

“The programme strives to close the digital divide for at-risk children who are left behind because they do not have the means to access computers at home in today’s increasingly digital society,” the company explained.

IGT offers the After School Advantage programme in jurisdictions in which it does business. In addition to the 15 centres in Jamaica, there are 17 in Trinidad and Tobago, two in Antigua, and one each in St Kitts & Nevis, St Maarten, St Croix, and Barbados, for a total of 39.

IGT said the company and its subsidiaries regularly upgrade computer centres and have made 28 further donations in new computer equipment, software, and employee volunteer hours.

IGT has been the lottery technology provider to Supreme Ventures Limited since it began selling online draw games in 2001.